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Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab have discovered what's likely to be another state-sponsored malware strain, and this one is more advanced than most. Nicknamed Slingshot, the code spies on PCs through a multi-layer attack that targets MikroTik routers. It first replaces a library file with a malicious version that downloads other malicious components, and then launches a clever two-pronged attack on the computers themselves. One, Canhadr, runs low-level kernel code that effectively gives the intruder free rein, including deep access to storage and memory; the other, GollumApp, focuses on the user level and includes code to coordinate efforts, manage the file system and keep the malware alive.

Before packing my bags for Spain, I took stock of my inbox for MWC meeting requests. A quick search showed I had more than 100 emails about 5G. "Solutions for cloud-based 5G infrastructures," one read. "5G is happening," another proclaimed. "Meet with XX 5G exec?" "XX invites you to experience the new 5G era." From demos of super fast phones and connected street lights, to obscure infrastructure projects that will actually form the backbone of 5G, the thirst was real.

Ever hop on a WiFi hotspot to save mobile data or boost speed, only to find out that it's so slow that you might as well have stayed on cellular access? If you're using Android 8.1 Oreo, that shouldn't be a problem going forward. After several weeks of teasing, Google is rolling out a feature that gauges the speed of WiFi networks before you connect. It's not giving you exact bandwidth readings -- instead, it's lumping the overall performance into categories that give you an idea of what to expect. You may want to avoid a "slow" (under 1Mbps) or "OK" (1-5Mbps) network unless you have no choice, but "fast" (5-20Mbps) and "very fast" (20Mbps and above) should do the job if you're catching up on YouTube.

Most of the states fighting the FCC's net neutrality repeal are counting on lawsuits or legislative measures that could take years to process, but Montana Governor Steve Bullock isn't willing to wait. He just signed an executive order requiring that all internet providers with a Montana government contract from July 1st onward honor the principles of net neutrality for any customer in the state. Given that most major providers (including AT&T, Charter and Verizon) have government contracts, this forces telecoms to treat all traffic fairly regardless of what the FCC wants.

WiFi security hasn't changed much since WPA2 came to be in 2004, and that's becoming increasingly apparent when public hotspots are frequently risky and glaring exploits are all too common. It's about to get a long-due upgrade, though: the Wi-Fi Alliance plans to roll out a WPA3 standard that addresses a number of weak points. For many, the highlight will be individualized data encryption. Even if you're on an open public network, you won't have to worry quite so much about someone snooping on your data.

As fast as fiber optic lines have become, they're still hamstrung by one key limitation: you still need to transmit that data over wires, which limits where you can transmit and the affordability of the fastest connections. Scientists may have a way to eliminate those cables while offering even faster speeds, though. They've discovered a way to 'twist' photons in a way that not only crams more data into each transmission, but survives interference from turbulent air. If you pass light through a special hologram, you can give photons an optical angular momentum that lets them carry more than just 1s and 0s -- and so long as the light's phase and intensity are right, you can reliably beam that data over long distances.

Mesh networking is all the rage for people who want to fill every bit of their home with sweet high-speed Wi-Fi. Lynksys, Google, Netgear, TP-Link and Eero all have devices that use the new technology to smooth out the dead spots in your home. Now Asus has joined the crowd with its Lyra Home WiFi System. Initially announced in January, the new routers are finally available for $400.

It's a downright shame that eSIMs aren't commonplace by now. Embedded-SIM technology has the potential to make getting connected to cellular networks much more convenient, but there hasn't been a consumer-friendly set of specifications for it since its 2013 introduction. That is, until last year, when the GSM Alliance (GSMA) released updated guidelines to add support for multiple profiles and devices (more on that later). Since then, thanks to partnerships between Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm on a new generation of connected PCs with eSIMs onboard, we're going to see the technology feature in all sorts of gadgets over the next few years.

After ending its "half your bill" promotion earlier this year, Sprint is back with a new strategy to steal customers from its rivals. It's offering a year of free "unlimited" data, talk and text for those who bring their device over from other carriers, although it is targeting Verizon users in particular with its advertising and phone selection. The offer is available today through the end of June, and, as expected, there is plenty of fine print.

If you're Google and you want the next Home speaker to clearly one-up the Amazon Echo, what do you do? Stick another device inside, apparently. A source speaking to the Information claims that an upcoming Home model will include a built-in WiFi router with mesh networking. You wouldn't need to buy a separate router (like, say, Google WiFi) just to connect devices around your household. And even if you already have a router, this would improve Home's performance by giving it a stronger connection in weak coverage areas.

Samsung isn't content with simply unveiling the Galaxy S8 today. In addition to its latest flagship phone, the company is also showing off a new Gear 360 camera, a desktop dock and, interestingly enough, a router. The Connect Home Smart Wi-Fi System is a mouthful of a name, but the device itself may actually reduce clutter in your home, since it removes the need for a separate SmartThings Hub. Samsung hasn't shared information on price and availability yet, but we do know the Connect Home system will be sold on its own or in a three-pack. A so-called Pro version will also be available.

Mesh WiFi networks, which use a handful of base stations to eliminate black spots in your home, are great but for one thing: the price. After all, dropping the better part of $500 on a router set is pretty steep when you've got bills to pay and food to buy. Netgear feels your pain, which is why it's adding a pair of cheaper models to its Orbi range of whole-home routers.

Much ado has been made over flying drones in groups, but there hasn't been much thought given to protecting autonomous drone groups against security breaches. What happens if someone impersonates enough drones to hijack their collective decision-making process? MIT might have a viable defense. Its researchers have developed a positioning technique that would prevent and mitigate these kind of impostor attacks. The key is to give each drone a wireless fingerprint that reflects its interaction with the environment -- effectively, the network can tell the difference between the actual drone pack and a fraud operating from the outside.

It's all well and good that Google is offering faster access to its services in Cuba, but there's a glaring problem: most Cubans have to go out of their way to use them. Home internet access isn't an option, so most residents have to either crowd around public WiFi hotspots or sit down at an internet terminal. Things are looking up, though: Cuba's state-owned telecom ETECSA is launching a trial for home internet access. About 2,000 homes in Havana will go online for at least two months, with promises that the test will expand if it goes well during the initial period.

Google's not new to the hardware game, but with its "Made by" range, the company is making a concerted effort to marry its smart software with the gear we run it on. We've already tried the Pixel phones, Daydream View VR headset, Chromecast Ultra and Google Home, but until now, there was one Made by Google gadget we'd yet to test, and it's the one that arguably ties all the rest together: Google's aptly named WiFi router.

We hope you weren't dead set on getting a new AirPort Extreme any time soon. Bloombergsources claim that Apple has "disbanded" its WiFi router division, quietly ramping it down over the past year as team members joined other divisions (including the Apple TV group). Reportedly, the shutdown is meant to "sharpen the company's focus" on those devices that make up the bulk of its revenue. A spokesperson wouldn't confirm the move, but Apple hasn't introduced a new router since 2013 -- it's not as if they had a lot of work on their plate.

LinkNYC's free, gigabit-grade WiFi is all over large chunks of New York City, but there's a conspicuous Brooklyn-sized gap... or rather, there was. The communication network has switched on its first two Brooklyn kiosks, both of them on Fulton Street in the Bed-Stuy area. Don't worry about having to visit a small part of the borough to get no-cost internet access, though. There are nine other Brooklyn hotspots due to go online in the weeks ahead, including some near LIU-Brooklyn and Prospect Park.

It's one thing to wire a house with gigabit fiber, but it's another matter to outfit an entire apartment building -- you need a huge pipeline to accommodate everyone. Nokia, however, might have a solution. It just partnered with SK Broadband to wire an apartment complex in Seoul, South Korea with fiber optics delivering aggregate speeds of 52.5Gbps. That doesn't guarantee that every user will get that speed (only "selected" customers saw those rates), but it increases the chances that you'll receive gigabit-class bandwidth in your rental.

Those rumors of Google giving WiFi routers another shot? They're true. Meet Google WiFi, a router designed entirely in-house... and with a few nice advantages over the OnHub line. Apart from being much smaller (no vase-like design here), its big trick is its ability to create an Eero-style mesh network. You only have to add additional units to your network to improve coverage -- there's a Network Assistant app that makes it easy to add more routers and improve your signal.

Sure, researchers have been showing off terabit data speeds in fiber optics for years, but they've seldom been practical. That exotic technology may work over long distances, but it can quickly fall apart when you throw typical network loads in the mix. However, it's about to become much more practical. Nokia Bell Labs, Deutsche Telekom and the Technical University of Munich have shown off 1Tbps data speeds in a field trial that involved "real conditions," with varying channel conditions and traffic levels.

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deutschetelekomfiberfiberopticgearinternetnetworkingnokianokiabelllabssciencetechnicaluniversityofmunichterabittumSun, 18 Sep 2016 22:37:00 -040021|21474047https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/17/linksys-ea9500-review/https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/17/linksys-ea9500-review/https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/17/linksys-ea9500-review/#comments
I live in a two-bedroom San Francisco apartment built in 1916. It has a view of the bay and the top of the Golden Gate bridge. There's crown molding, high ceilings and some pretty dope neighbors. It should be perfect. And it is -- if you're cool with plaster walls blocking 90 percent of all WiFi signals.

Iran made a lot of fuss about creating a national data network way back in 2005, and after 11 years it's finally ready... sort of. The country has launched the first phase of the network, which promises speeds up to 60 times faster than conventional internet in the area thanks to both local data centers and high-speed fiber optic lines. It'll only truly be finished by March 2017 (when the second and third phases will be in place), but the government claims that it'll be a "reliable, stable and safe" network that improves Iran's economy and overall independence.

MIT hates overcrowded networks just as much as you do, and its CSAIL division has made two breakthroughs that could clear up the data pipes. To begin with, it's developing programmable routers that can still keep up with bandwidth-heavy services like streaming video. Instead of trying to create an elaborate rule system for deciding which data packets get through (which could bog a router down or consume a lot of chip space), researchers broke things down into simple computing elements that could handle a wide range of tasks. You'd only have to combine different elements to achieve the intended effect, which could help networks adapt to new conditions -- that hot new mobile game might not cause chaos.

When the FCC said it was cracking down on WiFi routers that can operate at power levels that might cause interference, it wasn't kidding around. TP-Link has agreed to a settlement with the FCC that will have the company both keep its router power levels in check and shell out a relatively small $200,000 fine. As with Linksys, though, it's not asking TP-Link to block unofficial firmware that could break the rules. Just the opposite, in fact -- TP-Link has agreed to talk to both open source teams (think OpenWrt) and wireless chipset makers to enable third-party firmware that abides by FCC guidelines. While this isn't exactly a back-breaking penalty for TP-Link, it could serve as a warning to other router makers that might veer from the straight and narrow.

Have you wondered how Facebook might offer high-speed internet access using lasers? The company's Connectivity Lab is happy to show you. It just published a research paper explaining laser beam technology can deliver up to 2Gbps to remote places. The trick, it says, is to use fluorescent optical fibers to collect the light instead of relying on traditional optics. Since the fibers don't emit the same color that they're absorbing, you can shine a brighter light at them (similar to a solar concentrator) and manage an extremely quick turnaround time of under 2 nanoseconds. Combine that with multi-stream data encoding and you get the ample bandwidth that's normally reserved for WiFi and wired networks.